Monday Morning Manning: Week 11

Eli passes the great Fran Tarkenton

By: Marco Imperati

After beating the Bears last week, the Giants finished off their second and last trap game of the year as they beat the win less Cleveland Browns 22-16. It wasn’t always pretty and as the theme goes with the Giants offense this year, they leave the fans wanting and waiting for more.

There have been glimpses of the big play ability that this team has…yet it fails to show up consistently. Eli Manning finished with a stat line of 21-36, 227 yards, 3 touchdowns, 0 interceptions. In the process, Manning surpassed Fran Tarkenton for 8th all time on the NFL All time passing yards list. Manning also became the 9th NFL quarterback, all time, to surpass 47,000 yards.

In this game, fans will point to the flat line 3 and outs on most drives. I saw an offense that was trying to throw downfield yet rarely a connection due to a drop, overthrow or under throw. Besides a big strike to Victor Cruz, the deep play was never really there. As December is upon us, this team continues to establish the running game. Ball security and decision-making will mark what kind of finish this team is looking at.

Keep an eye on: Odell Beckham Jr. as a returner. As a fan, I love seeing the ball in his hands. He’s a threat anytime he has the ball. He goes from 0 to 60 in a blink of an eye. However, with the ball in his hands, it will bring on more hits. Never a good thing. The Giants are trying to give Dwayne Harris time to heal up but that can only work if OBJ is healthy.

Up Next: The Giants will start their five game finale with a trip to their sister franchise, the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Giants secondary will be facing Pittsburgh’s OBJ in Antonio Brown. He is nearly un-coverable and is just as dangerous in the return game. There are similarities everywhere between these two teams. If you want to know how improved the NY Giants Defense is, wait until you see them line up against the juggernaut Steelers offense. No time to think about the headline of the Giants vs. the Cowboys that looms in two weeks. Giants must take care of their business in Steel City.

If the focus isn’t there, the Steelers are capable of embarrassing any team in the league.